"John Prine Sam Stone" Lyrics

Sam stone came home to his wife and familyAfter serving in the conflict overseasAnd the time that he served, had shattered all his nervesAnd left a little shrapnel in his knee

But the morphine eased the painAnd the grass grew round his brainAnd gave him all the confidence he lackedWith a purple heart and a monkey on his back

There's a hole in daddy's arm where all the money goesJesus Christ died for nothin' I supposeLittle pitchers have big ears, don't stop to count the yearsSweet songs never last too long on broken radios

Sam stone's welcome home, didn't last too longHe went to work when he'd spent his last dimeAnd Sammy took to stealing when he got that empty feelingFor a hundred dollar habit without overtime

And the gold rolled through his veinsLike a thousand railroad trainsAnd eased his mind in the hours that he choseWhile the kids ran around wearin' other peoples' clothes

There's a hole in daddy's arm where all the money goesJesus Christ died for nothin' I supposeLittle pitchers have big ears, don't stop to count the yearsSweet songs never last too long on broken radios

Sam stone was alone when he popped his last balloonClimbing walls while sitting in a chairWell, he played his last request while the room smelled just like deathWith an overdose hovering in the air

But life had lost its funAnd there was nothing to be doneBut trade his house that he bought on the G. I. BillFor a flag draped casket on a local heroes' hill

There's a hole in daddy's arm where all the money goesJesus Christ died for nothin' I supposeLittle pitchers have big ears, don't stop to count the yearsSweet songs never last too long on broken radios